Our group is made up of Olivia, Ethan, and LaChelle. The purpose of our wiki is to find ways to increase ESL parental involvement.
Research
Creating Common Ground
In a study that I read about the researcher found some very interesting results about ethnic differences between parent and teacher factoring in to parent involvement. They noted that that in the study that when there is not a common ground or common culture it is harder for the parents and teachers to build a connection (Shuk & Hughes, 2006). I think that this might be a very common theme amongst different schools, whether it be, because of language differences or cultural differences it is hard for teachers to reach out to parents when they do not have a common ground to talk about or associate too. And for the same reason it is hard for parents to reach out to the teachers and schools because they do not feel that they have a connection so they do not want to overstep their bounds. When this is the case, the teachers need to be the ones to reach out to the parents through one of many different techniques: home visits; class projects, such as a culture day where all parents and families are invited to attend; and through many other ways. When it comes to school the teacher or school official is the professional and should act that way and make the first step.
In an article by Mary Borba, she makes a strong correlation between parental involvement and achievement with ESL students. One of the suggestions that she makes is to have a translator on hand so that the teacher can communicate with the parents and the other way around. Another recommendation that I thought would make a big difference would be when documents are sent home with the children to have them translated into the parents native language so that they can understand them better. Letting parents know about school events and having them feel like they are part of the community will lessen the cultural shock for many of these immigrant people (Borba, 2009). Pursuing Home Visits
Amy Baeder explains in this article that the lack of connection between teachers and their students is increasing every single day. We live in more diverse communities now where teachers and students may live far away and rarely see one another. Because of this teachers are having a very difficult time getting to know each of their students personally. In the article an individual named Thomas Barone describes it this way, "Educators have lost the ability to reach out and honor the places (whether the barrio, the ghetto, the reservation, the Appalachian holler, or simply the peaks and pits of adolescence) where our students live!" Baeder insists that home visits can bridge that gap. Considering the fact that these gaps between teachers, students, and their families have grown so large and diverse, it has become extremely important. Generalizations about students and their ethnicity or culture begin to disappear as a teacher takes part in a home visit and is able to actually get to know the families. Teachers don't have any clue what goes on in a student's home or the past experiences their family members have had with school or education just by looking at them. Teachers need to take action and visit these families to recognize their strengths, concerns, and talents. Home visits can make such a huge impact on the attitudes of these families, the student, and even the teacher regarding school and their involvement. The goal the author wants to make known is the idea of a teacher not taking or teaching information to the families; instead, just listening. If there are ever any forms or papers that need to be given to the parents, a teacher must wait until they are leaving to do so. The reason for this is to concentrate on creating relationships between school and family, which in the end creates a closer community of individuals. Through experimenting with home visits, teachers have usually aimed their visits more towards struggling students or those with more diverse backgrounds. Their hope is to eventually visit every single student in the school. The article suggests all schools create frequent home visits, but remember that they must have the support and commitment of all the staff to truly make it work. It is something that takes much preperation and planning. Every single day a teacher makes decisions on how to instruct his or her students based on what they know about them. Teachers can make a profound difference and learn so much if they would take the time to enter their students' homes (Baeder, 2010). Providing Opportunities A study was done to help increase positive practices with parents to be involved with their children's school work. 21 parents were involved and there were eight different languages spoken. They had all been in Canada for less than six years. These were some of the ways to help with parent school relationships:
1. Homework and parents’ at-home support;
2. Informal parental involvement in classrooms and
schools;
3. Formal parental involvement in classrooms and
schools;
4. School-based initiatives to develop partnerships and
cultural awareness.
The suggestions made in this article could be really helpful if applied in a classroom. Getting parents involved is a hard thing to do especially if the parents do not speak the native language. By giving parents the opportunity to be involved will increase the chances of a parent helping their student succeed (Ladky & Peterson, 2008). Parents and families of students need to feel that they are welcome within the school and its activities. Many times a parent may want to be involved but is not sure if they are allowed to or invited to so they just don't. A teacher can help increase parent participation if they will simply invite the parents to participate! The more comfortable and welcome a parent feels while being involved with their child in school can definately increase the amount of time they choose to participate. Of course it may take patience and a few invitations to create regular parent participation.
In a Canadian school the task was given to increase the positive dialogue between parents and teachers of ESL students. The school did Parent's Night to help increase positive feelings about the ESL program and help parents understand why this program was so important. This school came to the conclusion that having a parent committee was a great idea to help with the feedback from parents and teachers (Yan & Mohan, 2008).
A Maryland state superintendent, Nancy Grasmick, decided to appoint parents to the Maryland Parent Advisory Council to help provide ideas to increase parent involvement. Some of the ideas that they came up with are similar to some of the ideas presented in the study done in Canada. One of the ideas the council came up with was accountability; schools are required to create a coalition with community representatives and assess the effectiveness of the school. Incentives for the schools will be created to encourage them to better their system. Training is also a big factor when improving parent involvement. The training should include how to create better relationships with the community, better training for school officials when handling students with special needs, "family advocacy, cultural diversity and -- to maintain a family friendly atmosphere in the school -- parent involvement and customer service skills" (Christie, 2005). This is very important when dealing with the parents of ESL students. These parents need special help and attention so the teachers need that extra training so that they can better treat their needs. Three other ideas were partnership, leadership, and communication. I think that it is a great idea that Grasmick used in incorporating other parents in an advisory council for school officials. I think that the ideas that these parents come up with and the proper training that the teachers and school officials receive will make schools more parent friendly and therefore help parents get more involved (Christie, 2005).
In an article in the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation it talks about how parents of ESL students need to know the rights for their children in order to help them achieve success. Schools need to provide services for parents that will help in choosing the appropriate program for their child. Having parents help with the choice of program will lead to increase involvement with their child's education. Parents will know what they should expect from the program and how it will help their child succeed (Ochoa & Rhodes, 2005). Volunteering
Kate Singleton, the author of this particular article, suggests and encourages the involvement of volunteers in the classroom. She stated that volunteers can be a tremendous asset in the classroom for ESL students. Volunteers can give special attention and support to those students who are in need. Singleton list eight different types of volunteers that can be helpful:
1. Classroom Monitors
2. Co-Presenters
3. Nurturers
4. Half-group Teachers
5. Pull-out Group Leaders
6. One-on-one Tutors
7. Teacher Conferencing
8. Special Project Assistants
Although a variety of individuals can take part in being one of these volunteers, it would be very beneficial to allow parents of students, even ESL students, to participate in volunteering in the classroom. This allows for better communication and understanding between the parents, teachers, and students together. Encouraging parent involvement displays a ripple effect by creating parent and student success, to teacher success, and then to a school's success (Singleton, 1999). Communication
One of the first things that we need to verify is the understanding of what parent involvement really is. Some parents may think they are involved with the school by taking their child to school and keeping them safe, whereas, most teachers think that parents are only involved when the parents are actually at the school. Teachers cannot assume that parents automatically know what it means to be involved. They need to communicate their expectations with parents and be specific when asking parents to participate in certain activities. I think this simple communication can clear up simple misunderstandings like these. It is also imperative that the teachers and school officials realize and give credit to the time that a parent spends with their child at home on school work and assignments. Just because a parent does not have enough confidence in the English language or in themselves so they don't appear at school functions does not mean that they are not involved at home in their child's learning. However, the authors in this particular article state that efficacy is a very complex variable and because of the lack of assessment between it and parent involvement, it schould be measured very carefully (Anderson & Minke, 2007).
We know that a part of student success is linked to the amount of parent involvement that is taking place. Success is definately happening when this parent involvement includes information being relayed and exchanged from school to home and home to school. The social skills in children are essential for educational and social success. Within the article the authors explain and encourage the importance of parent involvement in social skills instruction. One method mentioned for this instruction is the use of Home Notes which was implemented in a suburban K-6 elementary in the Intermountain West. A random number of students' parents were selected across a number of classrooms to represent the parent sample to participate in this study. In the study monthly home notes were used to inform the parents of the social skills that were being taught that month and to encourage those parents and the families to teach that social skill at home and allow the student to practice it. The information introduced to the parents in the monthly note included:
1. An introduction of the social skill to the parent
2. The name and steps of the skill
3. A description of an activity related to the social skill such as games, assignments, puzzles, role plays, scenarios, and worksheets that the family could do
4. A request that the parent sign and return the form to the teacher within one week (this would be through their child, the student)
As an incentive to the students, they recieved a reward and their class' name posted on the recognition board in the hall if at least 85% of the students in that class brought back their signed notes. The authors explained, once the program was completed a survey evaluating the home note program was given to the teachers, the students, and the parents. Teachers were given the survey in a meeting, students were given the survey in class, and a survey was mailed to each of the parents that participated.One week after the surveys were sent out to the parents the survey was completed over the phone by someone from the school if it hadn't been recieved yet. At the conclusion of this program and survey, the results showed that teachers, parents, and students had generally favorable attitudes and comments towards the home note program. The parents and students explained that they enjoyed the bonding that took place as a result of the home notes. Some even wished and requested for more activities to be listed within the note. We can see through this experiment the authors introduced to us that involvement of parents and the interaction between students, their parents, and their teachers is very important and beneficial to the success we aim for. Those individuals experienced first hand the effects parent involvement has including an increased understanding within a parent about what is going on in their children's class, increased motivation and excitement within a student for what they are learning in school, and the confidence within a teacher that the progress displayed shows what they are doing is really working (Adams, 2010).
Many parents want to be involved but they do not have a very high self-efficacy. Many parents are involved in their child's schooling when they are in the elementary grades because they feel that they understand and are confident in their ability to help their children. However, once their children reach the secondary grades they feel inadaquate because for one some had not reached the higher levels of school and they do not understand the language of the classes that their kids are in. To raise self-efficacy for parents school districts have designed plans to educate parents. In the Iron County School District they have ESL classes for parents. Classes like these boost parents' self-efficacy to a level that they are sufficiently comfortable with helping their children. But self-efficacy isn't the only factor that limits parent involvement. The relationship between the parent and the child also play a big role in parent involvement. If the child and parent speak regularly, even if it be about a TV program, then parent involvement seems to be more likely because of the bond that the parent and adolescent have together. "The quality of those relationships seems to be of paramount importance for eighth grade students" (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2005). Home Learning Tool Kits
Authors Floyd and Vernon-Dotson introduced a study and experiment performed at a public elementary located in a rural area with a goal to encourage and promote family involvement with their students and the school. A leadership team from the school, with the support of the teachers and the PTA, recognized the need to increase involvement and build relationships with diverse families and decided that using Home Learning Tool Kits could aid in the task. These home learning tool kits are designed for a number of content areas with an emphasis on reading and math and are created for various levels of understanding. They include many different activities, books, response journals, pens and pencils, crayons, matching cards, puppets, play props, board games, graph paper, blocks, rulers, and many more items. All of the kits are related to and shaped around state standards or standard course of study. The project took place over a two year period where 76 families participated, including 33 families from ethnically diverse backgrounds. External funds from donations and other sources were collected by the PTA to create these kits. Although other forms of activties created for family involvement also work, there is one thing in particular that stands out in these particular kits. Other documented home learning activities created by schools are placed on loan to families, while the Home Learning Tool Kits are given to families to keep. These kits were designed by both parents, the PTA members, and the teachers. After these kits were put together, a workshop was set in place to demonstrate to and educate the families about the kits and their connection to the state academic standards. An outline and letter was also given with each kit to the parents completely describing the purpose and guidance for using them. Surveys, which were given to the families participating to determine their experiences, showed very positive feeback and responses. Teachers mentioned that they could see the excitement in their students when they explained their experiences. It was recorded that the amount of parent involvement increase three-fold! Teachers noticed that the types of families and parents who became involved changed drastically. They had parents attend the workshops or just drop in to ask questions about the kits or the activities of their children in school who had never done that before. These kits offered three valuable aspects of family and parent involvement for this school:
1. They encouraged family-school partnership that promoted children's learning.
2. They provided some level of continuity between home and school.
3. Their use enabled families and teachers to share curriculum-related interactions with the children.
This project not only allowed the parents to become involved and interested in their children's learning but positively affected their attitudes and interest in the school. The second year of the project displayed even more family interest and involvement than the first year. If teachers and schools actively participate in goals to include their students' parents they will see evidence of change for the better. Involvement from families with any student, whether they are special needs, ELLs, or your average student, is both beneficial and essential to their success socially and academically (Floyd, 2009)!
References
Adams, M. B., Womack, S. A., Shatzer, R. H., and Caldarella, P. (2010). Parent Involvement in School-Wide Social Skills Instruction: Perceptions of a Home Note Program. Education, 130(3), 513-528.
Anderson, K., & Minke, K. (2007). Parent Involvement in Education: Toward an Understanding of Parents' Decision Making. Journal of Educational Research , 100 (5), 311-323. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Baeder, A. (2010). Stepping Into Students' Worlds. Educational Leadership, 67(5), 56-60.
Borba, M. (2009). Caring Closes the Language-Learning Gap. Phi Delta Kappan , 90(9), 681-685. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Christie, K. (2005). Changing the Nature Of Parent Involvement. Phi Delta Kappan , 86 (9), 645-646. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Deslandes, R., & Bertrand, R. (2005). Motivation of Parent Involvement in Secondary-Level Schooling. Journal of Educational Research , 98(3), 164-175. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Floyd, L. O. & Vernon-Dotson, L. J. (2009). Using Home Learning Tool Kits to Facilitate Family Involvement. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(3), 160-166.
Ladky, M., & Peterson, S. (2008). Successful Practices for Immigrant Parent Involvement: An Ontario Perspective. Multicultural Perspectives , 10(2), 82-89. doi:10.1080/15210960801997932.
Ochoa, S., & Rhodes, R. (2005). Assisting Parents of Bilingual Students to Achieve Equity in Public Schools. Journal of Educational & Psychological Consultation , 16 (1/2), 75-94. doi:10.1207/s1532768xjepc161&2_5.
Shuk Wa, W., & Hughes, J. (2006). Ethnicity and Language Contributions to Dimensions of Parent Involvement. School Psychology Review , 35(4), 645-662. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Singleton, K. (1999). Using Volunteers in Your ESL Classroom: Suggestions for Newer Teachers. The Internet TESL Journal, 5(3), 1.
Yan, G., & Mohan, B. (2008). ESL Parents and Teachers: Towards Dialogue?. Language & Education: An International Journal , 22(1), 17-33. doi:10.2167/le731.0.
Getting Parents Involved
Introduction
Our group is made up of Olivia, Ethan, and LaChelle. The purpose of our wiki is to find ways to increase ESL parental involvement.Research
Creating Common Ground
In a study that I read about the researcher found some very interesting results about ethnic differences between parent and teacher factoring in to parent involvement. They noted that that in the study that when there is not a common ground or common culture it is harder for the parents and teachers to build a connection (Shuk & Hughes, 2006). I think that this might be a very common theme amongst different schools, whether it be, because of language differences or cultural differences it is hard for teachers to reach out to parents when they do not have a common ground to talk about or associate too. And for the same reason it is hard for parents to reach out to the teachers and schools because they do not feel that they have a connection so they do not want to overstep their bounds. When this is the case, the teachers need to be the ones to reach out to the parents through one of many different techniques: home visits; class projects, such as a culture day where all parents and families are invited to attend; and through many other ways. When it comes to school the teacher or school official is the professional and should act that way and make the first step.
In an article by Mary Borba, she makes a strong correlation between parental involvement and achievement with ESL students. One of the suggestions that she makes is to have a translator on hand so that the teacher can communicate with the parents and the other way around. Another recommendation that I thought would make a big difference would be when documents are sent home with the children to have them translated into the parents native language so that they can understand them better. Letting parents know about school events and having them feel like they are part of the community will lessen the cultural shock for many of these immigrant people (Borba, 2009).
Pursuing Home Visits
Amy Baeder explains in this article that the lack of connection between teachers and their students is increasing every single day. We live in more diverse communities now where teachers and students may live far away and rarely see one another. Because of this teachers are having a very difficult time getting to know each of their students personally. In the article an individual named Thomas Barone describes it this way, "Educators have lost the ability to reach out and honor the places (whether the barrio, the ghetto, the reservation, the Appalachian holler, or simply the peaks and pits of adolescence) where our students live!" Baeder insists that home visits can bridge that gap. Considering the fact that these gaps between teachers, students, and their families have grown so large and diverse, it has become extremely important. Generalizations about students and their ethnicity or culture begin to disappear as a teacher takes part in a home visit and is able to actually get to know the families. Teachers don't have any clue what goes on in a student's home or the past experiences their family members have had with school or education just by looking at them. Teachers need to take action and visit these families to recognize their strengths, concerns, and talents. Home visits can make such a huge impact on the attitudes of these families, the student, and even the teacher regarding school and their involvement. The goal the author wants to make known is the idea of a teacher not taking or teaching information to the families; instead, just listening. If there are ever any forms or papers that need to be given to the parents, a teacher must wait until they are leaving to do so. The reason for this is to concentrate on creating relationships between school and family, which in the end creates a closer community of individuals. Through experimenting with home visits, teachers have usually aimed their visits more towards struggling students or those with more diverse backgrounds. Their hope is to eventually visit every single student in the school. The article suggests all schools create frequent home visits, but remember that they must have the support and commitment of all the staff to truly make it work. It is something that takes much preperation and planning. Every single day a teacher makes decisions on how to instruct his or her students based on what they know about them. Teachers can make a profound difference and learn so much if they would take the time to enter their students' homes (Baeder, 2010).
Providing Opportunities
A study was done to help increase positive practices with parents to be involved with their children's school work. 21 parents were involved and there were eight different languages spoken. They had all been in Canada for less than six years. These were some of the ways to help with parent school relationships:
1. Homework and parents’ at-home support;
2. Informal parental involvement in classrooms and
schools;
3. Formal parental involvement in classrooms and
schools;
4. School-based initiatives to develop partnerships and
cultural awareness.
The suggestions made in this article could be really helpful if applied in a classroom. Getting parents involved is a hard thing to do especially if the parents do not speak the native language. By giving parents the opportunity to be involved will increase the chances of a parent helping their student succeed (Ladky & Peterson, 2008). Parents and families of students need to feel that they are welcome within the school and its activities. Many times a parent may want to be involved but is not sure if they are allowed to or invited to so they just don't. A teacher can help increase parent participation if they will simply invite the parents to participate! The more comfortable and welcome a parent feels while being involved with their child in school can definately increase the amount of time they choose to participate. Of course it may take patience and a few invitations to create regular parent participation.
In a Canadian school the task was given to increase the positive dialogue between parents and teachers of ESL students. The school did Parent's Night to help increase positive feelings about the ESL program and help parents understand why this program was so important. This school came to the conclusion that having a parent committee was a great idea to help with the feedback from parents and teachers (Yan & Mohan, 2008).
A Maryland state superintendent, Nancy Grasmick, decided to appoint parents to the Maryland Parent Advisory Council to help provide ideas to increase parent involvement. Some of the ideas that they came up with are similar to some of the ideas presented in the study done in Canada. One of the ideas the council came up with was accountability; schools are required to create a coalition with community representatives and assess the effectiveness of the school. Incentives for the schools will be created to encourage them to better their system. Training is also a big factor when improving parent involvement. The training should include how to create better relationships with the community, better training for school officials when handling students with special needs, "family advocacy, cultural diversity and -- to maintain a family friendly atmosphere in the school -- parent involvement and customer service skills" (Christie, 2005). This is very important when dealing with the parents of ESL students. These parents need special help and attention so the teachers need that extra training so that they can better treat their needs. Three other ideas were partnership, leadership, and communication. I think that it is a great idea that Grasmick used in incorporating other parents in an advisory council for school officials. I think that the ideas that these parents come up with and the proper training that the teachers and school officials receive will make schools more parent friendly and therefore help parents get more involved (Christie, 2005).
In an article in the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation it talks about how parents of ESL students need to know the rights for their children in order to help them achieve success. Schools need to provide services for parents that will help in choosing the appropriate program for their child. Having parents help with the choice of program will lead to increase involvement with their child's education. Parents will know what they should expect from the program and how it will help their child succeed (Ochoa & Rhodes, 2005).
Volunteering
Kate Singleton, the author of this particular article, suggests and encourages the involvement of volunteers in the classroom. She stated that volunteers can be a tremendous asset in the classroom for ESL students. Volunteers can give special attention and support to those students who are in need. Singleton list eight different types of volunteers that can be helpful:
1. Classroom Monitors
2. Co-Presenters
3. Nurturers
4. Half-group Teachers
5. Pull-out Group Leaders
6. One-on-one Tutors
7. Teacher Conferencing
8. Special Project Assistants
Although a variety of individuals can take part in being one of these volunteers, it would be very beneficial to allow parents of students, even ESL students, to participate in volunteering in the classroom. This allows for better communication and understanding between the parents, teachers, and students together. Encouraging parent involvement displays a ripple effect by creating parent and student success, to teacher success, and then to a school's success (Singleton, 1999).
Communication
One of the first things that we need to verify is the understanding of what parent involvement really is. Some parents may think they are involved with the school by taking their child to school and keeping them safe, whereas, most teachers think that parents are only involved when the parents are actually at the school. Teachers cannot assume that parents automatically know what it means to be involved. They need to communicate their expectations with parents and be specific when asking parents to participate in certain activities. I think this simple communication can clear up simple misunderstandings like these. It is also imperative that the teachers and school officials realize and give credit to the time that a parent spends with their child at home on school work and assignments. Just because a parent does not have enough confidence in the English language or in themselves so they don't appear at school functions does not mean that they are not involved at home in their child's learning. However, the authors in this particular article state that efficacy is a very complex variable and because of the lack of assessment between it and parent involvement, it schould be measured very carefully (Anderson & Minke, 2007).
We know that a part of student success is linked to the amount of parent involvement that is taking place. Success is definately happening when this parent involvement includes information being relayed and exchanged from school to home and home to school. The social skills in children are essential for educational and social success. Within the article the authors explain and encourage the importance of parent involvement in social skills instruction. One method mentioned for this instruction is the use of Home Notes which was implemented in a suburban K-6 elementary in the Intermountain West. A random number of students' parents were selected across a number of classrooms to represent the parent sample to participate in this study. In the study monthly home notes were used to inform the parents of the social skills that were being taught that month and to encourage those parents and the families to teach that social skill at home and allow the student to practice it. The information introduced to the parents in the monthly note included:
1. An introduction of the social skill to the parent
2. The name and steps of the skill
3. A description of an activity related to the social skill such as games, assignments, puzzles, role plays, scenarios, and worksheets that the family could do
4. A request that the parent sign and return the form to the teacher within one week (this would be through their child, the student)
As an incentive to the students, they recieved a reward and their class' name posted on the recognition board in the hall if at least 85% of the students in that class brought back their signed notes. The authors explained, once the program was completed a survey evaluating the home note program was given to the teachers, the students, and the parents. Teachers were given the survey in a meeting, students were given the survey in class, and a survey was mailed to each of the parents that participated.One week after the surveys were sent out to the parents the survey was completed over the phone by someone from the school if it hadn't been recieved yet. At the conclusion of this program and survey, the results showed that teachers, parents, and students had generally favorable attitudes and comments towards the home note program. The parents and students explained that they enjoyed the bonding that took place as a result of the home notes. Some even wished and requested for more activities to be listed within the note. We can see through this experiment the authors introduced to us that involvement of parents and the interaction between students, their parents, and their teachers is very important and beneficial to the success we aim for. Those individuals experienced first hand the effects parent involvement has including an increased understanding within a parent about what is going on in their children's class, increased motivation and excitement within a student for what they are learning in school, and the confidence within a teacher that the progress displayed shows what they are doing is really working (Adams, 2010).
Many parents want to be involved but they do not have a very high self-efficacy. Many parents are involved in their child's schooling when they are in the elementary grades because they feel that they understand and are confident in their ability to help their children. However, once their children reach the secondary grades they feel inadaquate because for one some had not reached the higher levels of school and they do not understand the language of the classes that their kids are in. To raise self-efficacy for parents school districts have designed plans to educate parents. In the Iron County School District they have ESL classes for parents. Classes like these boost parents' self-efficacy to a level that they are sufficiently comfortable with helping their children. But self-efficacy isn't the only factor that limits parent involvement. The relationship between the parent and the child also play a big role in parent involvement. If the child and parent speak regularly, even if it be about a TV program, then parent involvement seems to be more likely because of the bond that the parent and adolescent have together. "The quality of those relationships seems to be of paramount importance for eighth grade students" (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2005).
Home Learning Tool Kits
Authors Floyd and Vernon-Dotson introduced a study and experiment performed at a public elementary located in a rural area with a goal to encourage and promote family involvement with their students and the school. A leadership team from the school, with the support of the teachers and the PTA, recognized the need to increase involvement and build relationships with diverse families and decided that using Home Learning Tool Kits could aid in the task. These home learning tool kits are designed for a number of content areas with an emphasis on reading and math and are created for various levels of understanding. They include many different activities, books, response journals, pens and pencils, crayons, matching cards, puppets, play props, board games, graph paper, blocks, rulers, and many more items. All of the kits are related to and shaped around state standards or standard course of study. The project took place over a two year period where 76 families participated, including 33 families from ethnically diverse backgrounds. External funds from donations and other sources were collected by the PTA to create these kits. Although other forms of activties created for family involvement also work, there is one thing in particular that stands out in these particular kits. Other documented home learning activities created by schools are placed on loan to families, while the Home Learning Tool Kits are given to families to keep. These kits were designed by both parents, the PTA members, and the teachers. After these kits were put together, a workshop was set in place to demonstrate to and educate the families about the kits and their connection to the state academic standards. An outline and letter was also given with each kit to the parents completely describing the purpose and guidance for using them. Surveys, which were given to the families participating to determine their experiences, showed very positive feeback and responses. Teachers mentioned that they could see the excitement in their students when they explained their experiences. It was recorded that the amount of parent involvement increase three-fold! Teachers noticed that the types of families and parents who became involved changed drastically. They had parents attend the workshops or just drop in to ask questions about the kits or the activities of their children in school who had never done that before. These kits offered three valuable aspects of family and parent involvement for this school:
1. They encouraged family-school partnership that promoted children's learning.
2. They provided some level of continuity between home and school.
3. Their use enabled families and teachers to share curriculum-related interactions with the children.
This project not only allowed the parents to become involved and interested in their children's learning but positively affected their attitudes and interest in the school. The second year of the project displayed even more family interest and involvement than the first year. If teachers and schools actively participate in goals to include their students' parents they will see evidence of change for the better. Involvement from families with any student, whether they are special needs, ELLs, or your average student, is both beneficial and essential to their success socially and academically (Floyd, 2009)!
References
Adams, M. B., Womack, S. A., Shatzer, R. H., and Caldarella, P. (2010). Parent Involvement in School-Wide Social Skills Instruction: Perceptions of a Home Note Program. Education, 130(3), 513-528.Anderson, K., & Minke, K. (2007). Parent Involvement in Education: Toward an Understanding of Parents' Decision Making. Journal of Educational Research , 100 (5), 311-323. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Baeder, A. (2010). Stepping Into Students' Worlds. Educational Leadership, 67(5), 56-60.
Borba, M. (2009). Caring Closes the Language-Learning Gap. Phi Delta Kappan , 90(9), 681-685. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Christie, K. (2005). Changing the Nature Of Parent Involvement. Phi Delta Kappan , 86 (9), 645-646. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Deslandes, R., & Bertrand, R. (2005). Motivation of Parent Involvement in Secondary-Level Schooling. Journal of Educational Research , 98(3), 164-175. Retrieved from Teacher Reference Center database.
Floyd, L. O. & Vernon-Dotson, L. J. (2009). Using Home Learning Tool Kits to Facilitate Family Involvement. Intervention in School and Clinic, 44(3), 160-166.
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